Aurelian was an upwardly-mobile soldier who was eventually appointed
commander of the cavalry by Claudius II. With the aid of a sympathetic army he
revolted against the accession of Quintillus and a civil war was avoided when
the latter committed suicide following the growing popularity of his rival.
Aurelian was then hailed as emperor by the Senate and the rest of the legions
alike. His first mission was to strengthen the army by the introduction of the
strictest reforms and discipline as well as quelling the various uprisings that
had broken out over the last two decades. He thus spent the next five years
until cut down by his own Praetorian Guard at the height of his glory. It seems
Aurelian's personal secretary, after being reprimanded by the emperor for
attempted extortion, felt an execution would follow. To guard against this
possibility, he concocted a story about Aurelian intending to execute his
personal guard and then rushed to share with them this manufactured evidence.
Naturally, afraid for their lives, they entered the emperor's quarters and
effected a preemptive strike. Somehow or other it was soon afterward found out
that the formerly beloved emperor had no such motives and his secretary himself
was swiftly executed for treason. When news reached Rome of what had happened
Aurelian's wife seems to have actually been left nominally in power while a new
emperor was selected, a period that may have lasted several months. Although
history is a little hazy in this matter, it would mark the first and only time a
Roman empress explicitly ruled the empire.
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Silvered Antoninianus 270--275 A.D.
Rome
3.55 gm., 21 mm.
Obv. IMP AVRELIANVS AVG: Radiate and cuirassed bust right
Rev. FORTVNA REDVX: Fortuna seated left, holding rudder and cornucopiae
MBH-644/RIA, C. 95, Van Meter 10
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AE Antonininus 270--275 A.D.
22 mm.
Obv. IMP AVRELIANVS AVG: Radiate, cuirassed bust right
Rev. ORIENS AVG: Sol walking left, holding globe, between two captives; XXI in exergue
Sear 3261, C. 145, Van Meter 14 |
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Obv. C AVRELIANVS AVG: Laureate bust right
Rev. PROVIDEN DEOR: Sol standing right holding globe in left hand, upraised right holding a wreath; Fides standing left between two ensigns; PXXI in exewrgue
RIC V, pl. 1, 152, RIC 256, Van Meter 21 |
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Silvered Antoninianus 270--275 A.D.
Arelate, Officina Gamma (3)
22 mm.
Obv. IMP C AVELIANVS PF AVG: Radiate head right
Rev. RESTITVT ORBIS: A pregnant Orbis Terrarum presenting a wreath to Aurelian, star in center lower field
C. 192, Van Meter 23a |
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AE Antoninianus 270--275 A.D.
Rome
22 mm.
Obv. IMP AVRELIANVS AVG: Radiate and cuirassed bust right
Rev. RESTITVT ORBIS: Orbis Terrarum presenting a wreath to Aurelian
C. 192, Sear 3265, Van Meter 23a |
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AE Antoninianus 270--275 A.D.
24 mm.
Obv. IMP AVRELIANVS AVG: Radiate bust right
Rev. VIRT MILITVM: Aurelian and Virtus standing, facing; Virtus presenting Aurelian with Victory bearing wreath
C. 261,Van Meter 33 |
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